Fabric



y 1962 1-1. MEYER ETAL 3,036,602

FABRIC Filed Dec. 29, 1959 F/GZ.

F G .3. 6 @W@ @l 52 43 44 Invenfom ttorneys United States Patent3,936,602 FABRIC Hans Meyer and Peter Meyer, both of 63, .leddo Road,London WAZ, England Filed Dec. 29, 1959, der. No. 362,702 Claimspriority, application Great Britain Jan. 2, 1959 11 Claims. (6i.139-426) The present invention relates to an improved fabric having adifferent appearance or different properties on its two faces,particularly to a fabric comprising a thermoplastic component andadapted to be caused to adhere to other articles under the action ofheat and pressure.

Such fabrics may be used for various purposes; for example broadly inthe art of labelling for various purposes or for the production of twoormulti-ply fabrics, such as stiffened fabrics, or more specifically inthe production of interlining fabrics for such articles as collars orculls.

As applied to the art of marking textile articles the invention isconcerned in particular with the provision of a tab or label fabriccomprising a thermoplastic component, from which tabs or labels can beformed adapted to be attached to textile articles by the action of heatand pressure so that the tabs or labels can be used for price marking orfor the temporary marking of articles to be cleaned by aqueous ornon-aqueous media, in which case they remain adherent to the article tobe marked throughout the treatments to which the article may besubjected, but which tabs or labels can be peeled from the markedarticle when required and for which purpose one edge part of the tab orlabel does not become adhered to the article and thus forms a fingergrip to permit or assist the removal of the tab or label.

Such tabs or labels have been described for example in US. Patents Nos.2,639,255, 2,639,256 and 2,828,779 and methods of marking articles basedon the use of such tabs or labels have been described in said Patentswhile apparatus for affixing such tabs or labels has been described inBritish Patent No. 644,119 and in U.S. Patents Nos. 2,654,495 and2,654,496.

In order to meet the requirements of such cleaning operations a tab orlabel material capable of being caused to adhere to a textile articleunder the action of heat and pressure, must include a thermoplasticcomponent which fulfils the following requirements:

(a) It must be inherently resistant to a range of cleaning operationsand specifically to any of the solvents commonly employed in drycleaning, such as trichlorethylene, perchlorethylene, white spirit andhot water.

(b) It must have a softening point, which on the one hand issufficiently low to enable it to be made adherent to a textile articleby the application of heat and pressure but without causing damage tothe article by scoring, and on the other hand is sufficiently high sothat pressing or calendering operations do not have any effect on thetab or label. Further, it must be possible to apply it without using asolvent for the thermoplastic material since such solvent might wellaffect many types of articles likely to be handled in cleaningoperations. In some cases it may bepossible to bring the softening pointto the required value by incorporating a suitable plasticising agent.

(0) It must not be a substance, in common use in textile materials usedfor clothing and household purposes since otherwise there would be thedanger of the tab or label becoming permanently welded to such textilematerials; the fulfilment of this requirement ensures that the tab orlabel can be applied to any type of textile article likely to bereceived for treatment.

Apart from the requirements of being capable of being 3,036,6h2 PatentedMay 29, 1962 firmly attached to a textile article, but, nevertheless,capable of being peeled off when required, a tab or label for temporarymarking of textile articles must fulfil other requirements which will bereadily apparent; for example the tab or label must not stick to thepresser surface by which it is applied to the article, it must not leavearesidue of thermoplastic material or frayed particles on the markedarticle, and it must be capable of receiving a clear and legibleidentification marking, generally by printing identification lettersand/ or numerals thereon, which marking must be resistant to theaforesaid cleaning operations.

As above indicated, the present invention also relates to fabrics foruse in the production of twoor multi-ply laminates where the aboverequirements a to c also apply, and is concerned in particular with anovel fabric which may in some cases be suitably stiffened, and isintended to form part of a twoor multi-ply laminate, and morespecifically to a material capable of being caused to adhere to anotherfabric by the action of heat and pressure.

These composite sheet materials may be used for various purposes in theclothing trade for example, and for the so-called interlining materialsadapted to be placed in contact with other sheet materials and to beadhered to such a material on one or both sides.

The known interlining materials used for this purpose have not, however,been found to fulfil all the requirements for such materials, forexample in many cases they are not resistant to all dry-cleaningsolvents, or have other disadvantages, for example they are liable toshrink during application by heat and pressure. One object of thepresent invention is to provide an improved fabric component (orinterlining) for use in the production of twoor multi-ply materials orlaminates, and which is adapted to be caused to become bonded to a sheetmaterial on one or both sides thereof by the application of heat andpressure, but without the use ofa solvent for the thermoplasticcomponent.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel fabricsuitable for the purposes referred to, and more specifically a fabricconsisting in part of nonthermoplastic yarns and in part ofthermoplastic yarns.

A further object is to provide a fabric in which thermoplastic yarns areexposed substantially only on one face of the fabric, the other facebeing substantially free from exposure of the thermoplastic .yarns.

In accordance with this invention the fabric comprises a series offabric elements consisting alternately of single larger diameter yarnsand groups each of not more than four smaller diameter yarns woven asone yarn, and fabric elements interlaced with the series of fabricelement to form a fabric structure, each interlacing element crossingover a plural but uneven number of said series of elements and under aplural but uneven number of said elements and so on in succession.

Conveniently the fabric is in the form of a twill weave in which thesaid series of fabric elements comprise the warp and the interlacingelements comprise theweft, the weft tension being substantially lowerthan the warp tension and each weft crossing alternately over and underthree warp elements, that is over two larger yarns and a group ofsmaller yarns between them, and then under two groups of smaller yarnswith a larger yarn between them.

In the preferred arrangement the larger yarns consist of amulti-filament thermoplastic material of comparatively low twist, andthe smaller yarns and the interlacing elements consist ofnon-thermoplastic material.

By virtue of this arrangementthe group of smaller non-thermoplasticyarns on each side of each thermoplastic yarn run parallel to anddirectly adjacent to the latter and thus protect and cover them on oneface of the 1.9 fabric, while on the other face two thermoplastic yarnson each side of a group of non-thermoplastic yarns overlie the latterand thus permit substantially complete exposure of the thermoplasticyarns.

In these new fabrics the. thermoplastic yarns, in general, consist ofpolyvinyl chloride or other fiber-forming polymers such as nylon. Thus,they may consist specifically of polyvinyl chloride or a co-polymer ofvinylidene chloride with acrylates, acrylonitrile or vinyl chloride; theyarn sold under the trademark Saran has been found to be suitable forthis purpose. In the case of a vinylidene chloride co-polymer thevinylidene chloride content is over 50% and preferably lies between 70and 95%. Such fabrics may alternatively utilise multi-filament yarnsmade of relatively low melting point nylon such as those sold under thetrademark Rilsan. In a modification a monofilament flat tape can be usedinstead of any of the above multifilament yarns.

The structure of new fabrics of the present invention is illustrated onthe accompanying drawings in conventional form in which:

FIG. 1 is a weaving plan as seen from the non-thermoplastic bearingface, and

FIGS. 2 and 3 areviews of the fabric taken in cross section in thedirection of the weft yarns and illustrating the manner in which thenon-thermoplastic yarns spread out over and protect the thermoplasticyarns.

As indicate-d on FIG. 1 a twill fabric is shown in which fabric elementsproviding the warp are interlaced with other fabric elements 6 providingthe weft yarns. The warp consists of non-thermoplastic yarn groups 4(successive yarn groups being marked 41, 42, 43, etc.), andthermoplastic yarns 5 (successive yarns being marked 51, 52, 53, etc.),in alternating sequence, there being, in sequence, one group 4 followedby one yarn 5 and so on. Each group 4 may consist of not more than fourindividual yarns each smaller than the yarns 5, and all woven as one andaccordingly shown on the drawing as a single element.

On one example a woven fabric is composed of a warp consisting of:

(a) 60 ends per inch of 500 denier multifilament yarn spun from aco-polymer of 85% vinylidene chloride and 15% vinyl chloride, known asSaran 843, and containing 9 or more filaments twisted together with aminimum twist.

(b) 180 ends per inch of 30s count cotton, three ends being woven as oneand alternating with the Saran ends.

And the weft consists of:

(c) 52 picks per inch of 45s count cotton.

The warp is kept relatively taut whereas the weft is woven at asubstantially low tension, i.e. substantially lower than the warptension.

The weft yarns 6 (FIGS. 2 and 3) are not shown or indicated on FIG. 1,but it will be apparent from the latter that the weft yarns passalternately over and under three sets of warp elements (consisting ofthe groups 4 and the yarns 5) according to a twill pattern.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that every set of three warp elementscrossed under by each weft yarn comprises a thermoplastic yarn with agroup of non-thermoplastic yarns on each side thereof. Conversely everyset of three Warp elements crossed over by each weft yarn comprises anon-thermoplastic yarn group with a thermoplastic yarn on each side. Ithas been found that the result of this arrangement of the yarns and themanner of weaving adopted is that on one face of the fabric (thenon-thermoplastic bearing face seen on FIG. 1) the componentnonthermoplastic yarns spread out over the cover the thermoplastic yarnsas indicated by the upper face of the fabric .in FIGS. 2 and 3, ensuringthat there is substantially no exposure of the thermoplastic yarns onthat face.

The structure of the other face of the fabricv (the thermoplasticbearing face) will be evident from study of FIG. 1. Thermoplastic yarnson each side of the nonl thermoplastic yarn group concerned are exposedon the face of the fabric and the non-thermoplastic yarns of the yarngroup concerned are covered by the thermoplastic yarns as indicated bythe lower face of the fabric in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It will be seen that considering a series of warp elements 4, 5, 4, 5etc., in which successive elements are denoted by 40 (not shown ondrawings), 41, 42, 43, etc., and 51, 52, 53, etc., one Weft pick willcross under and over warp elements as follows:

Over 51:41:52, then under 42:53:43 and so on, while the following pickwill cross under and over warp elements as follows:

Under 40:51:41: then over 52:42:53 and so on.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3 that such fabric providessubstantially complete exposure of the thermoplastic component on thethermoplastic bearingface of the fabric, and substantially no exposureof such component on the non-thermoplastic bearing face, offering highlydesirable properties for a tab or label which is to be caused to adhereto an article to be marked and which is to bear a printed identificationmarking on the exposed face.

Heretofore a fabric has been described in which the weft yarns 6 crossalternately over and under three warp elements but it should beunderstood that substantially similar results are obtained where theweft yarns cross alternately over and under an uneven number of Warpelements, although in general the most useful results are obtained withthe arrangement specifically described with the weft yarns crossingthree Warp elements in each case.

In the production of tabs or labels for marking textile articlesintended to be subjected to dry-cleaning or like operations, it ispreferable for the tab to be attached in such manner that there is anon-adherent edge part to provide a finger grip to assist any subsequentremoval of the tab or label.

It is not possible to form a finger grip with a nonadheiing edge part asexplained in US. Patents Nos. 2,639,255 and 2,639,256 because, firstly asolvent for the thermoplastic material cannot be used, and, secondly,because it cannot be excluded that the treatment operations to which thearticle being cleaned is subjected may include, possibly accidentally, aheating and pressing operation at a temperature approaching or lyingabove the softening point of the co-polymers; accordingly the fingergrip is formed in the present case by folding under an edge part of thetab or label, for example by the means described in British Patent No.668,305 or in copending US. application Serial No. 821,298, this foldedunder portion being incapable of adhering to the marked article by theapplication of heat andpressure.

Tab or label fabrics according to the present invention are particularlysuitable for marking articles to be subjected to cleaning operationsusing the normal types of solvent as well as when using aqueous cleaningmedia at comparatively low temperatures, but it may be desirable tomodify the conditions of application under heat and pressure accordingto the nature of the article to which the tabs or labels are to beapplied. The temperature of application, the pressing time and thespecific pressure can all be varied or one or more of these factors canbe varied.

The foregoing examples may further be regarded as typical of fabricsintended to form part of twoor multiply materials; they' may be causedto adhere to a ply on one side thereof by means of heat and pressurehigher than that outlined above and/or such pressure may be maintainedfor a longer period, so that the resulting adhesion is of a morepermanent nature and the fabric is not so easily removable from the plyto which it has been attached.

What we claim is:

1. A fabric comprising a series of fabric elements consistingalternately of single larger diameter yarns and groups each of not morethan four smaller diameter yarns, and fabric elements interlaced withthe series of fabric elements to form a fabric structure, everyinterlacing element crossing over a plural but uneven number of saidseries of elements and under the same plural but uneven number of saidelements and so on in succession.

2. A fabric according to claim 1 in the form of a twill pattern in whichthe said series of fabric elements comprise the warp and the interlacingelements comprise the weft, the weft tension being substantially lowerthan the Warp tension and each weft element crossing alternately overand under three of said warp elements.

3. A fabric according to claim 1 wherein the larger yarns consist ofthermoplastic material and the smaller yarns and the interlacingelements consist of non-thermoplastic material.

4. A fabric structure adapted to be caused to adhere to other articlesby the application of heat and pressure and formed in part ofnon-thermoplastic yarns and in part of thermoplastic yarns, in whicheach non-thermoplastic yarn is substantially smaller than thethermoplastic yarns and several of the former yarns form a group betweenadjacent thermoplastic yarns and the fabric is produced with interlacingyarns in such manner that at every crossing of an interlacing yarn thegroup of nonthermoplastic yarns on each side of each thermoplastic yarnrun parallel to and directly adjacent to the latter on one face of thefabric and thus protect and cover the thermoplastic yarns, while on theother face two thermoplastic yarns on each side of a group ofnon-thermoplastic yarns overlie the latter and provide substantiallycomplete exposure of the thermoplastic yarns.

5. A fabric structure as claimed in claim 4 comprising a woven fabric inwhich the warp consists of thermoplastic yarns alternating with groupsof not more than four comparatively small non-thermoplastic yarns, eachgroup being woven as a single yarn and the weft consists ofnon-thermoplastic yams woven at a comparatively low tension which isless than the warp yarn tension, each weft pick crossing alternatelyover and under three warp elements, in the form of a twill weave so thaton one face of the fabric the non-thermoplastic yarns substantiallyprotect the thermoplastic yarns and result in a low degree of exposureof the thermoplastic yarns, whereas on the other face where there aretwo thermoplastic *9 yarns and one group of non-thermoplastic yarns, thethermoplastic yarns are substantially exposed.

6. A fabric structure according to claim 4 wherein the thermoplasticyarns consist of a co-polymer of vinylidene chloride in which thevinylidene chloride content lies above and preferably between and 7. Afabric structure according to claim 4 wherein the thermoplastic yarnsconsist of a fibre-forming polymer.

8. A fabric structure according to claim 7 wherein the thermoplasticyarns consist of polyvinyl chloride.

9. A fabric structure according to claim 7 wherein the thermoplasticyarns consist of nylon.

10. A method of marking articles which comprises cut ting a tab from afabric strip, said strip comprising a series of fabric elementsconsisting alternately of single larger diameter yarns of thermoplasticmaterial and groups of not more than four smaller diameter yarns ofnon-thermoplastic material, said alternating yarns being interlaced witha series of non-thermoplastic yarn elements to form a fabric structure,each interlacing element crossing uniformly over and under an odd numberof elements in said alternating series that is greater than one, saidmethod including folding under one edge part of said tab to form anon-adherent finger grip, applying an identi- Iication marking to oneface of the fabric, said face consisting predominantly ofnon-thermoplastic material, and applying the tab so marked under heatand pressure to an article to be marked with the other face of thefabric in contact with the article.

11. A method of stiffening textile fabrics which comprises applying tothe textile fabric to be stiffened a portion of fabric, said portionconsisting of a series of fabric elements consisting alternately ofsingle larger diameter yarns of thermoplastic material and groups of notmore than four smaller diameter yarns of non-thermoplastic material,said alternating yarns being interlaced with a series ofnon-thermoplastic yarn elements to form a fabric structure, eachinterlacing element crossing uniformly over and under an odd number ofelements in said alternating series that is greater than one, saidmethod includ-, ing the step of adhering to the textile fabric by theapplication of heat and pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,828,776 Meyer Apr. 1, 1958

